Sweeney’s Feature Article on CFO Concerns Published in ABF Journal

Thanks to the dramatic shift in the scope of responsibility seen in recent years, CFOs are under more pressure than ever before. Jeffrey Sweeney explains how to secure the most favorable financing in a highly fragmented marketplace.

In the last 15 years, there has been a dramatic and fundamental shift in the scope of the CFO’s responsibilities. CFOs, now expected to be “business visionaries,” fulfill a far more strategic role in organizations. Unsurprisingly, this is putting increasing demands on their time and resources. The pressures on today’s CFO are exacerbated by the changes in today’s lending market, especially for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The Underbanked Challenge

In a recent article published in ABF Journal, Jeffrey Sweeney, Chairman and CEO at US Capital Partners Inc., explains how many SMBs still find themselves unable to access capital from the traditional banking sector to finance ongoing operations, fund expansion plans, or launch other strategic initiatives. Today almost one-third—which could translate into more than 10 million—of the nation’s small businesses are “underbanked.”

“Credit markets are biased towards bigger businesses, and that bias has become more pronounced following the financial crisis,” said Sweeney. “The Fed’s leveraged lending guidelines are holding back lending by banks to smaller businesses. Meanwhile, the alternative lending market, especially for SMBs, has dramatically changed in recent years and is now highly fragmented.”

Specialist Advisory Firms

The solution for SMBs, Sweeney argues, is to seek third-party specialized help. Most SMBs are simply not familiar enough with the alternative lending market, asset appraisers, or even the customary practices between specialty lenders to create optimal solutions. They will likely have been a bank customer for many years and not dealt extensively in the fragmented asset-based lending world. It’s therefore helpful to bring in a specialist investment banking advisory firm like US Capital Partners that can coordinate between the borrower and the different specialty lenders to engineer an optimal solution for your business.

US Capital Partners understands the pressures on the modern CFO and the difficulties they face in arranging optimal financing for their business in today’s shifting financial landscape. US Capital Partners is a full-service financing and advisory practice for SMBs. The firm understands the current fragmented lending market, and its advisory service is a valuable resource for overworked CFOs.

To learn more about how your business can secure the funding it needs, email Jeffrey Sweeney, Chairman and CEO, at jsweeney@uscapitalpartners.net or call (415) 889-1010.